1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an ice-making machine, and more particularly, to an ice-making machine reducing ice making time and preventing wastage or loss of water to be frozen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ice-making machine is used for freezing water to thus form ice pieces. There has already been proposed an ice-making machine capable of preventing opacification, which occurs as air bubbles inside the water are frozen.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional ice-making machine, which was disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,243.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional ice-making machine includes a housing 10, a freezing unit 20, and an air-removing means 40.
The housing 10 has an ice bin 11 for storing ice pieces formed in the freezing unit 20. Under the ice bin 11 are disposed a compressor 12 and a condenser 13.
As shown in FIG. 2, the freezing unit 20 includes a water tray 21, a freezing base plate 23, and an evaporator 30. The water tray 21 is filled with water to be frozen. A plurality of freezing fingers 22 are disposed on the lower surface of the freezing base plate 23 to be dipped in the water. One side of the water tray 21 is provided with a pivoting means for tilting the water tray 21 to allow unfrozen water to be discharged. The evaporator 30 is disposed on the upper surface of the freezing base plate 23 and is connected to a freezing system. As the refrigerant flows inside the evaporator 30, the freezing base plate 23 and the freezing fingers 22 are cooled by the heat exchange of the refrigerant within the evaporator 30.
The air-removing means 40 is for removing air bubbles inside the water to prevent opacification occurring during ice formation. The air-removing means 40 includes a rocking plate 41 rocking upward and downward inside the water tray 21 and a rocking motor 42 for driving the rocking plate 41. An engagement piece 43 disposed at the rocking motor 42 upwardly pushes an engagement pin 44 of the rocking plate 41 to move the rocking plate 41. The rocking movement of the rocking plate 41 causes the air bubbles to float upwardly and outside the water to be frozen, thereby removing the air bubbles.
The freezing unit 20 further includes a water supply pipe 14, a pivotal shaft 25, a water chute 26, and a water collecting section 15.
Hereinafter, the operation of the conventional ice-making machine is described.
The water to be frozen is supplied to the water tray 21 through the water supply pipe 14 and then the freezing fingers 22 are dipped into the water, the water starts to freeze around the freezing fingers 22 that are cooled to a temperature of 0xc2x0 C. or lower by the heat exchange of the refrigerant flowing inside the evaporator 30. At the same time, the rocking motor 42 is activated to vertically rock the rocking plate 41 that is immersed in the water. Accordingly, the water is rocked and thus the air bubbles inside the water are removed. As a result, clear ice pieces are formed around the freezing fingers 22.
The ice pieces are gradually formed around the freezing fingers 22 to a predetermined size, and when the process is completed, the rocking plate 41 stops being rocked. Hot gas is discharged from the compressor 12 without passing through the condenser 13 and is directly supplied into the evaporator 30 to temporarily heat the freezing fingers 22, and then the water tray 21 pivots on the pivotal shaft 25 by the pivoting means 24 to thus be tilted. Accordingly, the formed ice pieces are separated from the freezing fingers 22 and then are dropped into the ice bin 11, and the unfrozen water that remains in the water tray 21 is guided along the water chute 26 and discharged into the water collecting section 15 (FIG. 1).
Such conventional ice making machines require an amount of water exceeding what is actually to be frozen as the water tray is designed to hold more than the amount of water necessary to make ice pieces, thereby wasting a lot of water to excess runoff.
Moreover, since the freezing fingers 22 cool not only the water around the freezing fingers 22 but also all of the water in the water tray 21, too much energy is consumed and the generation rate of the ice pieces formed around the freezing fingers 22 is slow.
The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above-described problems in the prior art. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice-making machine making unnecessary the freezing of waste water by supplying a predetermined amount of water into a plurality of freezing chambers having predetermined sizes, and reducing the time required to form ice pieces by increasing the freezing speed around freezing fingers.
The above objects are achieved by providing an ice making machine comprising a housing, an evaporator connected to a freezing system, a base frame having a plurality of freezing cells for being filled with water to be frozen, a freezing base plate provided with the evaporator and freezing fingers formed on the lower surface of the freezing base plate to be dipped into the water supplied to the freezing cells, and an air removing means for pumping the water into the freezing cells so as to remove air bubbles inside the water, thereby forming clear ice pieces.
It is preferred that the air removing means comprises a water path disposed within the base frame to be connected to the freezing cells, a water pocket connected to the water path and replenished with water, and a pressing means for repeatedly pressing the water pocket to pump the water of the water pocket into each freezing cell.
Preferably, the pressing means comprises a cam disposed in contact with the water pocket and a cam motor for rotating the cam.
Also, it is preferred that at a side of the water pocket is disposed a valve in the water path for forcedly injecting the water into the freezing cells.
Also, it is preferred that the water pocket is made of a soft impermeable material, such as a silicone.
Also, it is preferred that between the cam and the water pocket is interposed a pressing plate.